New Year’s Day brings an end to 2020 (thank goodness!) and also a Premier League fixture between two sides that are very much in form right now. Manchester United are bonafide title contenders, as they sit second, just two points behind table topping Liverpool.
Aston Villa are 5th, six points off the top of the table pace, but they have a game in hand on everybody above them, and two games in hand on third place Leicester City. The Villans have made it clear- they will be a factor this season.
Manchester United vs Aston Villa FYIs
Kickoff: 8pm GMT Friday Jan 1
Team news for both sides: go here
TV (US): NBCSN Streaming: NBCSports.com
Odds: United -143, Villa +333, Draw +300
Table Position: United 2nd, 30 points Aston Villa 5th, 24 points
Form Guide: United WDWWD Aston Villa DWWDW
In looking at how United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might set up his team for this one, there will be an eye on squad rotation, obviously, as this is festive period fixture congestion.
Expect some changes from the lineup that beat Wolves last night, and those swap outs are reflected below in our prediction.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs Aston Villa
De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Pogba, Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood, Martial
Prediction: Manchester United 2, Aston Villa 1
It’s going to be tooth and nail, a hard fought match to the end, but last night’s thrilling win over Wolves, a team United has really struggled with recently, made me a true believer in them.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.